What Small Businesses Can Learn About Creating a Lasting Brand From Apple, Dunkin’ Donuts and CVS

What Small Businesses Can Learn About Creating a Lasting Brand From Apple, Dunkin’ Donuts and CVS

Author: Ivy Cohen / Source: Entrepreneur Once you start a business, the hard part of entrepreneurship is keeping your business going. Pivo

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Once you start a business, the hard part of entrepreneurship is keeping your business going. Pivotal to building a long-running business is creating a lasting brand. Small business owners and entrepreneurs can gain valuable insight on how to develop a thriving brand by emulating the actions of well-established brands.

Of the many elements that go into building a successful brand, three major branding tenets can make or break your company. They are: a unique brand identity, a consistent brand identity and value through product differentiation. These three examples provide a template for success.

Unique brand identity: Apple

The visual elements by which your company is known can have an indelible impact on how your business is viewed. Your company’s logo, color palate and graphic elements may seem like a simple thing, but having a logo that is distinctly and instantly recognizable as your own can help your business stand out from a crowded field of competitors.

Apple shows us the power of creating a unique brand identity. Apple is distinctive for its clean, forward-thinking design features, as well as its minimalism in messaging and advertising. These aesthetics perfectly complement its unique selling proposition: intuitive electronics that are easy for people to use while providing cutting edge technological capabilities.

The instantly recognizable Apple logo has had remarkable staying power with only a few variations along the way. It began with the Apple silhouette filled with rainbow stripes. Then, wanting a simplified look with adaptability for future products, Steve Jobs moved to monochrome silhouettes, generally in black or silver, keeping the focus on the Apple and making the logo more readily identifiable across all uses.

Over time, the Apple logo became synonymous with cutting edge design and technology. People valued the symbol and what it stood for so much that they would stand in line for a product they knew very little about simply to be part of that community of tech-savvy early adopters. And, this is still the case 30 years later. When people see the Apple logo, they assume they are getting the best that money can buy in consumer technology.

You may not be Steve Jobs, but you can create a brand identity that expresses how you aspire your company to be seen — and own it!

Consistent brand identity: Dunkin’ Donuts

In an age when most businesses do not have a brick-and-mortar storefront and goods and services are offered across numerous digital distribution channels, it is vital that your company have a consistent brand identity across all product lines. Consistency maximizes brand recognition, makes it easier to attract customer consideration and generates repeat sales in a world with tons of competition screaming for attention.

Dunkin’ Donuts demonstrates the art of…

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